Redress of Grievances (23 page)

Harriett
walked to a set of French doors that opened out onto a small covered deck. The
Dallas skyline covered the horizon.

"Nice
view," she said.

"You
should see it at night," Alex said walking up behind her. "It's
beautiful then."

"Do
you ever wonder what people are doing in those buildings late at night when the
lights are on?"

"Probably
staring out at us, wondering what we're doing."

Harriett
laughed. "Now there's a scary thought. Like watching someone with
binoculars and finding them looking back at you."

"You
haven't changed at all, Harriett."

"Everyone
changes," she said softly. "Everything changes."

"Not
everything. You're still beautiful," Alex said, sliding her hands down
Harriett's arms.

"Did
you bring me here to seduce me, Alex?" Harriett asked as she continued
gazing at the skyline, feeling her skin react to Alex's light touch.

"Is
that what you think?"

She turned
toward Alex. Looking at her still took her breath away. "Maybe."

Alex
kissed her forehead. "You said you weren't ready to rush into
anything."

"I'm
not."

"You
can't know how much I've hated not being with you," Alex said. Leaning
closer she kissed Harriett softly. "How much I've hated not being able to
touch you."

Moments
later they were slowly undressing one another, leaving a trail of clothing into
the bedroom as they renewed a relationship placed on hold for too many years.
There was something familiar about their physical intimacy that was unhurried
and prolonged, each taking the time to appreciate the other's body. It was well
after dark when Alex drove Harriett back to the Hyatt.

As
she got off the elevator on her floor, she saw Wayne leaning against the wall
outside her room.

"Is
something wrong, Wayne?" she asked as she unlocked her door.

"Yeah,"
Wayne answered. "We got a problem."

"Well,
come on in and tell me about it."

Harriett
tossed her purse on the bed and slipped her shoes off.

"So
what's this big problem?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her
hair.

"The
problem is that you're lettin' yourself get tangled up with Alex Dunne
again."

"What?"

"I
said..."

"I
heard what you said, Wayne," Harriett frowned. "And I resent the hell
out of what you're insinuating. I'm not some kid who needs to be watched."

"Come
on, Harriett. Remember who you're talkin' to. I've been down this road before.
She talked you into her bed today, didn't she?"

"You're
not being paid to pry into my private life, which, I might add, is none of your
damned business," Harriett snapped.

"I
don't give a shit if you like it or not. I ain't got a family of my own, so I
adopted you and Lacey. I won't stand around and watch while you throw
everything away tryin' to recapture something it's taken you years to get
over." Wayne stepped closer to Harriett. "You can't let what you're
feelin' between your legs do your thinkin' for you, honey."

"Go
to hell, Wayne. Just do what you're being paid to do," Harriett said as
she stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

BY
NINE THE next morning, Harriett and Nick sat behind a two-way mirror and
watched as Dr. Talbot placed Sharon Taggart under hypnosis for the second time.

"You
know anything she reveals under hypnosis won't be admissible," Nick
whispered.

"You
don't have to whisper, Nick. She can't hear us. I need any lead we can get
about her abuse as a child."

"If
it points to her family you'll be biting the hand that feeds you."

"I
know."

On
the other side of the mirror, Sharon slipped into a deep sleep, her eyes closed
as her head lolled slightly to one side.

"Can
you hear me, Sharon?" Talbot asked gently.

"Yes,"
Sharon answered, barely audible.

"I'm
going to count backwards from ten. I want you to go back five years in time as
the numbers decrease. Do you understand?"

Sharon
nodded.

"Nine,"
Talbot said softly. "Now you're twenty-five years old. Eight and you're
twenty."

Talbot
continued counting slowly and speaking softly until he finally reached five.

"How
old are you, Sharon?" he asked.

"I'm
five."

"That's
very good. What are you doing?"

"Playing."

"Are
you alone?"

Sharon
shook her head. "Parker is with me."

"What
are you and Parker doing?"

"Playing
a game."

"Is
it a fun game?"

"I
don't like it. Parker likes it."

"Does
the game have a name?"

"No."

"Can
you explain it to me?"

"No,"
Sharon frowned.

"What
is Parker doing, Sharon?"

Sharon's
eyes flew open and seemed to look through Talbot.

"Don't
want to, Parker," she whined. "Don't like it."

Hearing
a conversation in her head, Sharon shook her head and closed her eyes again.
She began shaking her head rapidly. "No, no, no," she repeated. She
was perspiring and becoming agitated.

"Sharon,"
Talbot said. "When I count to six, I want you to move five years ahead. Do
you understand?"

Sharon
nodded, her demeanor becoming calmer as Talbot uttered the number.

"Do
you feel better now, Sharon?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Tell
me about Parker."

"He's
my brother. I love him. Mother said I should love my brother."

"Do
you love Parker?"

"Yes."

"Can
you trust Parker?"

"Parker
watches me."

"Do
you and Parker still play together?"

"Sometimes.
Parker is getting too old for games though."

"What
do you and Parker do together?"

"Nothing
bad," Sharon said after a hesitation.

"I
know," Talbot reassured her.

"I
don't like his friends."

"Why?"

"They
hurt me sometimes."

"But
Parker doesn't hurt you?"

"No,"
Sharon smiled. "Parker loves me."

"How
do his friends hurt you, Sharon?"

Sharon
readjusted her position in her chair and frowned. "Parker told them not
to. It was an accident."

"Was
Parker there when you were hurt?"

"I
won't play the game if Parker's not there."

"Can
you describe the game?"

Sharon
opened her mouth and breathed through it, squeezing her eyes more tightly shut.

"It's
a secret game. I'm not supposed to tell."

"But
you want to tell someone, don't you? It's hard to keep a secret all to
yourself."

"Parker
said I shouldn't tell."

"I
want you to rest, Sharon. In a moment, I'll count back to ten. When I reach ten
you will be the age you are now. You won't remember anything we've talked about
today and you will feel rested and peaceful. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Talbot
returned Sharon to the present and awakened her from the hypnosis. They chatted
for a few minutes before Talbot excused himself and left the room. A moment
later he joined Harriett and Nick.

"Why
did you tell her to forget everything?" Harriett asked.

"Because
when you draw Jan out again, I don't want her to be repeating what Sharon
said."

"But
I thought Jan knew everything that happened to Sharon," Nick said.

"If
the theories are correct and if she exists at all, Jan would have been
suppressed by the hypnosis and unaware of what Sharon was doing during that
time," Talbot explained.

"What
did you mean when you said when I draw Jan out?" Harriett asked.

"Jan
trusts you. I don't think there's any doubt that Sharon was sexually abused as
a small child. The likely offender is her brother and perhaps later his
friends. She's too attached to her brother to tell us what he did, but if
Sharon indeed created Jan to deal with the abuse, Jan will have no attachment
whatsoever to the brother. In fact, she might even want to hurt him. Sharon has
a deeply rooted belief that a person should never hurt another member in his or
her own family; the old blood is thicker than water idea. That may be why she
said that Parker never hurt her. In essence, it didn't happen to her. It happened
to Jan, who isn't really a family member."

"Thanks
for clarifying that, Doc," Nick said.

"It's
a complex disorder, Mr. Lazslo," Talbot smiled.

"Sort
of makes you long for your basic, run of the mill whacko," Nick said.

"Will
Sharon let Jan tell me what happened to her as a child?"

"She'll
resist it, but from what I've observed on the videos, Jan exists as a genuine
separate personality and is becoming stronger. In addition she's extremely
angry and violent."

"If
Jan has been around for what, twenty-five years, why is she just now acting out
her anger?"

"Personally,
Ms. Markham, I believe the husband might have pushed her over the edge. That's
not anything based on fact, but it's obvious that Sharon's husband has probably
also been sexually abusive."

"They've
been married eight years, Doctor. Why would Jan wait this long if she was
involved in an abusive relationship with her husband?"

"Maybe
he hasn't always been abusive. If it's a recent development on his part, Sharon
might have lived with it until the level of abuse rose to a level that could no
longer be tolerated. If the deaths of those people started about a year and a
half ago, I'd look for changes in their marital status that have occurred
within at least the last two years."

"Everyone
we've talked to has mentioned a change in Sharon's behavior within the last two
years, beginning about the time her daughter was born."

"Did
she begin cutting herself off from friends and isolating herself?"

"Gradually,
yes. A former friend said Sharon sought help at a mental health facility but
was turned away."

"It's
possible she may have gone through a serious bout of untreated postpartum
depression after the birth of her second child. But since she wasn't diagnosed
by anyone, there's no way to tell. Maybe Jan can fill in the details for you,
if Sharon lets her. You will have to be careful though, Ms. Markham, not to
attack Sharon verbally. Jan won't allow you to hurt her. She is Sharon's
protector."

"I
told you to take those karate lessons," Nick smiled.

"She
might not hurt you physically, but if she knows everything Sharon knows, she
might go after you some other way."

"What
should I tell her if she asked where you are?" Harriett asked Talbot.

"Tell
her I'll be back in a few minutes. That I had a long distance phone call."

Harriett
took a deep breath and left the viewing room to speak to Sharon.

"Ms.
Markham," Sharon said as Harriett entered her room. "Dr. Talbot is
here. He just left."

"I
saw him. He had to take a phone call and said it would be all right if I spoke
to you until he got back."

"They
told me they were moving me Monday."

"Yes.
A court in Austin will hear your case."

"Does
that mean I won't be able to see Kevin and Laurel?"

"Not
for a while. But your case has a better chance away from Dallas County."

Sharon
frowned.

"Maybe
Frank can bring them to Austin on weekends to see you," Harriett offered.

"I
can ask him, but he might be too busy."

"I'm
sure he's worried about you."

Sharon
looked hard at Harriett, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"He's
only worried that he won't get enough pussy from that whore he's fuckin'."

"It's
good to see you again, Jan," Harriett said.

"Wish
I could say the same."

"I'm
only trying to help Sharon out of the mess you've gotten her into."

"That
why you brought that Talbot guy in?"

"Yes.
But Sharon won't tell him much."

"She
don't know much," Jan smirked. "Listen, you got a cigarette?"

Harriett
reached into the pocket of her jacket and tossed a pack of cigarettes to Jan.
Lighting a cigarette for her, Harriett watched the woman fill her lungs with
smoke and exhale slowly.